Official: 15 hurt in Nablus village after settler raid

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- After Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday night, clashes with Israeli forces injured 15 Palestinians from the village, a local official said.

Around 30 settlers from the Esh Kodesh settler outpost descended on the village in the evening, PA official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma’an. They uprooted several olive trees and destroyed water wells, before assaulting some villagers, he added.

Israeli forces arrived and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, Daghlas continued. The clashes continued for several hours and left 15 people from the village injured, he said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces used riot dispersal means to disperse a clash between Palestinians and Israelis, but said no one needed evacuation.

Qusra lies near several settlements and outposts and is the site of regular assaults by their residents.

Issam Kamal Odeh, 33, died from Israeli army fire in September 2011 after soldiers came to the village after a settler raid.